Not Letting You Go
by Kazie Solo
Summary: What if Lilika thought that it was Takeshi who told Kouya about Carlos? She goes to him to demand an explanation --- but she gets something very unexpected instead. *Takeshi/Lilika, COMPLETE*


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Author's Notes:The idea for this fic came right after I saw the "Why-didn't-you-tell-me-about-Carlos" scene, but I never got to write it down until recently. Sorry for that, I was uninspired for sometime there, and busy at the same time. Anyway, this is dedicated to the biggest Takeshi/Lilika fan I know, and one of the people who continue to inspire me to write fics no matter what those fics are. RaineSolo --- _sis_ --- this is for you!

Please review! 

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Not Letting You Go

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He's not Yuhya Marino…

Yuhya died four years ago…

I was there when they buried him…

I was there…

I saw…

So as to erase all the doubts that remained in him with regards to the Brazilian lad who claimed the name of Yuhya Marino, Takeshi Manganji repeated those words over and over to himself, his eyes shut tight as he leaned back against the chair he was sitting on. True, Carlos Williams looked nowhere near the deceased Gear Fighter --- he made Kouya Marino even more recognizable as the latter's younger brother in appearance --- but there was something in the boy that caused him to feel much discomfort. It was not the youth's uncanny resemblance to Yuhya in terms of his fighting style, but rather his aura that blazed the way Yuhya's always did.

And _that_ scared Takeshi, for it made him feel as if the captain of his former Gear Fighting team was watching his every move, was taking note of his every action, even from the world of the dead. Was Yuhya trying to remind him, through Carlos, that he wasn't doing his job well? Was Yuhya, his coach and his friend, trying to warn him that his personal desires were getting in the way in the achievement of his true goal in the Gear Fighting world?

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when the door of the room he was assigned to stay in suddenly slammed open, the noise of thundering footsteps irritating his ears. His deep brown eyes immediately narrowed at that, annoyance filling him to the brim quickly. He gave strict orders not to let anyone inside because he didn't want to be disturbed, yet someone just had the guts to defy him. The expression on his handsome, tanned face hardening, and the aloof and cold-hearted demeanor of his returning like a performer putting on a mask, he pushed himself up and turned around to confront the intruder…

… only to feel a hand brush against his face forcefully.

He took a step back, his hand moving up to his face, touching his cheek by reflex --- his cheek that stung almost as if it was on fire. He did not even get the chance to rebuke his opponent, however, because before he could open his mouth to say anything, Lilika Tobita started her assault of words. "You _promised_, Takeshi!" he heard her scream, something glistening in her emerald eyes along with the light of fury… tears? "You promised me that you wouldn't tell Kouya a thing about Carlos! But you did, and you told him everything! How could you?!"

Taken by surprise, Takeshi only stood there without a word. His silence, however, only enraged the deputy owner of the Tobita Club even more. "Oooh, you _jerk!_" she spat, her hands clamped into fists at her sides. She gave him one last infuriated look before she whirled around sharply to leave.

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That was the time when the captain of the Manganji Dream Team regained his composure, and reaching out as quickly as he could, he pulled her back to settle the dispute. Unfortunately, he forgot that he was a Gear Fighter strong for his age, and so his pull was more forceful than he intended, causing the young woman to lose her balance and fall into his arms. But that wasn't the end of the motion just yet. As her body slammed against his well-built figure, he lost his balance as well, sending both of them to the floor, her on top of him. And they stayed that way, unmoving, for a few seconds, until Lilika began the struggle to pull herself out of the mess.

"Takeshi…" she muttered softly as she tried to get off him, thinking that the reason why she couldn't get back to her feet was because they were both caught up in a very uncomfortable position. She lowered her gaze to check if her former teammate was all right, but she immediately flushed as soon as she found him looking up at her with a strange expression in his eyes --- an expression that one could not easily associate with _the_ Takeshi Manganji everyone knew. In fact, she grew even more uncomfortable when she realized that the reason why she couldn't get back on her feet was because he was _holding_ her tightly against his muscular form.

"I'm not letting you go. Not this time, Lilika."

That was the last thing she remembered, the last thing she heard, before Takeshi brought his head up a little and captured her lips in a deep kiss --- the kiss that pulled her into the pool of absolute bliss, making her forget everything else in the world except the young man she shared the moment with. And for the first time since Yuhya's death, she remembered how it felt like to love and _be_ loved in return… 

… and understood everything she ever felt about the cocky Gear Fighter in a red jacket.


End file.
